Chad Townsend of Fox Chapel grew up eating frozen Ho Ho cakes, courtesy of his late grandmother, Mildred Trau.

That love of noshing on frozen treats would later inspire Townsend to hone his ice cream-making skills and later open Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream, based in Pittsburgh.

Mildred, or “Millie” was near and dear to Townsend and when she died in the late 1980s, Townsend never forgot his grandmother’s fondness for pink outfits and ice cream.

“It’s special and a nice homage to my grandmother,” Townsend said.

Townsend began to think pink, collaborating with his wife, Lauren Townsend, launching Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream in 2014.

The brand is known for its super-premium homemade ice cream, sorbet and quality coffees.

Millie’s ice cream gets its creamy goodness from ingredients that don’t have any gums, glues or stabilizers.

Before Millie’s, Chad Townsend was a chef, training at the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts, even cooking in the French Alps.

But creating and churning out ice cream has proven to be a sweet recipe for the couple.

“Ice cream was made a lot of years without all of that stuff. There’s a craft to it, just like anything else,” he said. “It’s the quality of the ingredients and there are some eggs added.”

Lauren Townsend said entrepreneurship is rewarding.

“It’s the highest of highs (and the lowest of lows), but building something out of nothing is really gratifying and ice cream just makes me happy,” she said.

Lauren Townsend was working in the finance industry and sent Chad an email one day asking if he’d like to make ice cream together.

“I talked her into buying a very expensive ice cream maker for our house and we started making ice cream on our stove and then stores and people were asking for it,” Chad Townsend said.

From freezers to factory

Millie’s has grown from a 2016 storefront in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood to include Pittsburgh-area locations in Cranberry, Greensburg, Kennywood, Lawrenceville, Market Square, Ross Park Mall, South Fayette, Wexford, Carnegie Mellon University, North Park, Oakland and Murrysville.

The bright pink stores and vibrant, fun interiors are the brand’s nostalgic nod to Grandma Millie.

Franchise opportunities and Millie’s ice cream trucks are another part of the Millie’s portfolio, with shops in Jacksonville and Point Vedra Beach, Fla., and opening soon in Buffalo, N.Y.

What started as a small dairy plant in Homewood has grown to a Homestead production location with plans to relaunch public tours of the facility in the near future.

Declining to mention specific annual ice cream sales, except to say it’s “a lot,” Chad has recently paired up with his longtime friend and farmer John Daugherty of Daugherty Orchards in Murrysville.

The duo is launching a specialty ice cream dessert featuring Millie’s “Chad’s Vanilla” ice cream paired with fresh, homemade apple dumplings from Daugherty Orchards.

Jon Daugherty grew up in Murrysville working on the family’s 103-acre farm, founded in 1947.

Joyce Hanz | TRIBLIVE Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream paired with a homemade apple dumpling from Daugherty’s Orchards in Murrysville.  

The baker behind the bountiful apple dumplings is Jon’s mother, Lois Daugherty.

Lois churns out almost 200 homemade fruit pies per week and baking is her full-time gig.

“She’s the sweetest human being you will ever meet,” Daugherty said.

The generously-sized apple dumplings debut exclusively on Nov. 14 at Millie’s, located in the Blue Spruce Shoppes in Murrysville.

“My mother was always baking. She got her pie recipe off of her mother-in-law and began baking in the 1950s. It’s top-secret,” said Daugherty.

Joyce Hanz | TRIBLIVE Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream co-owner Chad Townsend has collaborated with Jon Daugherty of Daugherty Orchards, offering homemade apple dumplings at the Millie’s location in Murrysville.  

Chad Townsend and Daugherty met while students at Franklin Regional High School and have remained friends.

Daugherty earned a master’s degree in elementary education and completed his student teaching requirements at Kerr Elementary in the Fox Chapel Area School District.

They both ditched their former jobs for food-related careers and the opportunity to be their own boss.

Working together to sell a local, farm-to-table dessert seemed like a natural fit, they said.

“It’s fun. We only use real fruit in all of our ice creams and we love partnerships with our makers. It only made sense,” said Chad Townsend.

Millie’s employs about 300 workers and is sold nationally.

Seasonal ice cream flavors include the 2025 Pie Collection with flavors that include key lime pie, peanut butter and pumpkin.

Sorbet and dairy-free ice cream are available, too.

Other specialty scoops include strawberry jam, pistachio cannoli, backyard s’mores, cookies n’ cream, coffee break, cookie dough and best chocolate.

The Townsends moved to Fox Chapel five years ago.

They like to think their ice cream business is Millie-approved.

“She’d be excited to see that we’re able to do something our family can participate in and that would be special to her,” Chad Townsend said.

Courtesy of Jon Daugherty Baker Lois Daugherty of Daugherty Farms in Murrysville takes a tray of freshly baked apple dumplings out of the oven.  

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